A hinged electrical connector is known in which two housings arranged opposite each other are connected to each other at the opposed surfaces thereof by a hinged so as to render the housings bendable and in which electrical contacts are accommodated in each housing, the contacts being connected electrically to each other by a bendable conductor extending between the housings.
In this connector, the connector is detachably connected to post contacts of post headers, which are respectively secured on a pair of printed circuit boards so that the printed circuit boards are electrically connected to each other through the post contacts, contacts, and bendable conductors.
The electrical connector of the above construction has the following advantages. Since it is bendable via the hinge, it permits a pair of printed circuit boards to be arranged in a coplanar manner on an assembly line so that electrical and mechanical tests or adjustments of components or devices on the printed circuit boards can be easily conducted. Also, after completion of such tests and adjustments, either of the pair of printed circuit boards can be rotated by a predetermined angle so that the printed circuit boards can be installed in a smaller area. This enables the equipment to be smaller and the manufacturing efficiency higher.
However, on the other hand, the connector having the above construction has the following disadvantages. In order to electrically connect a pair of printed circuit boards to each other, it is indispensable that each printed circuit board have a post header to which the electrical connector is connected. This not only increases the number of components or parts of the printed circuit boards but also increases the number of assembly operations so that the manufacturing cost is increased. Furthermore, contacts accommodated in the two housings are connected to each other by the bendable conductors so that the connection is indirect with the result that the wiring length is increased which affects the electrical and mechanical properties of the connector.